VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis says his upcoming trip to the Holy Land aims to boost relations
with Orthodox Christians. But the three-day visit in May also underscores Francis’ close ties to
the Jewish community, his outreach to Muslims and the Vatican’s longstanding call for peace between
Israel and the Palestinians.

Francis told thousands gathered in the rain for his weekly Sunday blessing that he would visit
Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem on May 24-26. It is the only papal trip confirmed so far for 2014
and the second foreign trip of Francis’ pontificate, following his 2013 visit to Brazil for World
Youth Day.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio — now Pope Francis —
made interreligious dialogue a top priority, hosting an annual interfaith ceremony in the Argentine
capital’s cathedral to promote religious harmony and writing a book on faith with his good friend,
Rabbi Abraham Skorka.

“We are hoping for a new glimmer of light from this visit in relations with the Orthodox, with
Muslims and Jews,” Monsignor William Shomali, auxiliary bishop in Jerusalem, told Vatican Radio
yesterday.